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Pennsylvania DOC proposes closing facilities, opens three‑month Act 133 feedback period
Summary
The Department of Corrections told the Appropriations Committee it has proposed several facility closures — including SCI Rock View and a boot camp — because of excess bed capacity and capital costs; the proposals are in a 90‑day Act 133 stakeholder feedback period and no final decisions have been made.
The Department of Corrections on Feb. 4 proposed closing multiple facilities — including SCI Rock View and a Chesapeake‑area boot camp listed in testimony as “Kehana boot camp” — and said it would accept public and local‑official feedback during a three‑month Act 133 process before making any final decisions.
The proposal is meant to respond to a sustained drop in the prison population and to reduce ongoing operating and capital costs, Secretary Laurel Harry told the House Appropriations Committee. “These are proposed closures. We have not made a final decision yet because we are in the 3 month feedback period,” Harry said.
Why it matters: the department told lawmakers it has excess capacity across the system and must weigh the high cost of maintaining older facilities against mission needs. Committee members pressed department officials on how closure decisions were made, who served on the internal steering committee and what local impacts would look like for staff, county services and utilities.
Officials described…
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